


these sheets are empty, waiting for you

by sunshinexbomb



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-09
Updated: 2012-09-09
Packaged: 2017-11-13 20:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/507484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinexbomb/pseuds/sunshinexbomb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>while <i>louisandharry</i> collide and crash and burn only to get back up and do it all over again, <i>liamandzayn<i> happen slowly, gradually, and they don't collide as much as they gravitate towards each other until they're finally together.</i></i></p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i>Written for <a href="http://malabami.livejournal.com/1880.html?thread=96344#t96344">this</a> prompt at the Ziam Ficathon.</i>
  </i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	these sheets are empty, waiting for you

every once in a while there will be an interview where the questions stray from the usual _what do you look for in a girl, if you could date a member of the band who would it be,_ and niall’s favorite, _tell us about larry stylinson_.

there's this period of time where they get _who would survive longest in the hunger games_ and _who would make it through a zombie apocalypse_ questions. the questions are fun and fresh and they always laugh and joke that niall would probably be the first to go in these kind of scenarios.

niall takes it all in stride, laughs along with his friends, because, yeah, he has a tendency to daze off and not know what's going on, and it's not unlikely that in the face of a zombie apocalypse he would get eaten simply because of an utter lack of attention to his surroundings.

the thing is though, niall can be extremely observant if he chooses to. he notices all those little things, the one's that the others overlook because the only thing they're paying attention to is the big picture.

while liam and zayn (but not harry, _never_ harry, because when it comes to louis, harry notices _everything_ ) only see louis's bright smiles and twinkling eyes, niall sees his worn down cuticles and knows that the older boy is more stressed than he lets on.

while everyone rolls their eyes at the way harry takes _forever_ to get out a sentence, niall notices the slight hesitations, those small, barely noticeable moments that reveal how harry knows it's important to watch what he says.

most of all, niall notices things about liam and zayn and _liamandzayn_. it's not like he's watching them or anything – that would be weird and just this side of creepy – but it's more like he just happens to see these small things, things everyone else probably sees too, and he knows what they really mean.

from the very beginning, there's a _louisandharry_. for niall, _louisandharry_ start the minute simon announces that they're all going through to the x-factor and despite all his own excitement, from the corner of his eyes, niall sees louis wrap himself around a boy he barely knows and hang on like he's never going to let go.

but _liamandzayn_ is different because, well, liam and zayn are just so completely different from louis and harry. while _louisandharry_ collide and crash and burn only to get back up and do it all over again, _liamandzayn_ happen slowly, gradually, and they don't collide as much as they gravitate towards each other until they're finally together.

when they're first put together, five boys from five different towns with five different personalities, and things are still fresh and new and exciting, niall notices how liam and zayn seem to form this connection.

it's because liam and zayn are the least used to this kind of thing. they're sort of quiet and reserved and they've never been around people like louis and harry who are open and flirty and touchy. liam and zayn band together because they keep each other sane in the chaos which becomes their lives.

niall sees the two of them always find quiet corners of the x-factor house to sit and talk. he sees the comforting touches to the inside of wrists and shy smiles and warm hugs and playful laughter which is the beginning of _liamandzayn_. sometimes niall can't help but smile because it's like he's the only one who knows that there's something there, a bond that is much more than friendship.

but then things change and they don't win the x-factor but they get an amazing record deal and before they know it they're playing headlining tours in foreign countries. in the midst of all this they become closer, like a family, and niall can't imagine being anywhere than with these four other boys.

but other relationships develop as well because suddenly it's not just _louisandharry_ , there's also _louisandeleanor_ and before _liamandzayn_ even has a chance to start, there's _liamanddanielle_.

it's not that niall doesn't like danielle or eleanor, because they're both sweet and charming and gorgeous and hard not to like, it's just that he doesn't like how they throw his whole life out of balance.

even despite eleanor, _louisandharry_ is a force to be reckoned with, and niall doesn't like to think about them too hard because it just confuses him. sometimes he honestly doesn't know what's going on there and harry and louis are such dynamic beings that he doesn't think he'll ever truly know.

it's easier to see the shift in liam and zayn's relationship. at first zayn is a bit distant, a little hesitant with his touches. niall sees that look in his eyes whenever liam mentions danielle and how whenever she's around, zayn will attach himself to niall like an extra limb.

slowly but surely, liam and zayn fall back into the rhythm of their relationship. they go back to cuddling and arms around shoulders and waists and faces buried in the crooks of necks while they try to catch their breath through their laughter.

there's still something different about them though. there's this way that liam looks at zayn, and it makes niall feel uncomfortable, like he's invaded something extremely private, but at the same time the look is confused and questioning like liam doesn't know what he's feeling. then there's the way that zayn sometimes holds onto liam, almost possessively, as if to show the world that at least for this moment, liam is his.

just as niall is getting back into the sway of things, life changes again.

_louisandeleanor_ don't really fall apart, because the term is too gentle. like almost everything else in louis's life, the relationship explodes, and one day eleanor leaves shaking and crying and louis is left to sort out the scattered pieces of his life.

_liamanddanielle_ is different because liam is not louis. liam is thoughtful and calculating and he's rarely spontaneous. niall watches as the relationship just seems to slip away until liam realizes that he just has to finally let it go.

from there, it takes a few months before niall notices the subtle shifts in liam and zayn's relationship. their touches start to linger and there's the holding of hands under tables and the stolen looks and smiles during interviews. they find this balance where zayn doesn't go out to clubs as much and liam admits that a few nights of partying won't kill him.

there are even smaller things, things that no one else would notice unless they were looking for changes. niall can't help but smirk at how after nights spent at hotels, zayn is sometimes walking funny or liam's voice has this slight rasp to it that no one would notice unless they spent day after day hearing him talk and sing.

(of course, there's the fact that hotel walls tend to be paper thin, but niall likes to believe that he doesn't have to hear his friends shagging to know that they are)

when liam and zayn finally come out and tell everyone that they're now _liamandzayn_ , no one's really that surprised and niall's just a tad bit disappointed that he wasn't the only one that noticed. but he's extremely happy because there's no one else who deserves to be together more than liam and zayn.

the thing is though, with this newly formed _liamandzayn_ , niall starts to feel a new sense of loneliness creeping up inside of him. there's always been a _louisandharry,_ but when there's a _louisandharry_ and a _liamandzayn_ , that leaves just niall.

it doesn't take long for niall to realize that yeah, he's basically really jealous. he's sees the soft touches and caring eyes that pass between his friends and it reminds him that he has no one to share those kinds of things with. niall doesn't remember the last time he had a hand to hold and he knows that no one's ever looked at him the way liam looks at zayn (and niall hates that look because it's this look like zayn is the sun and the stars and the moon and just the whole entire universe that liam revolves around).

while they're on break, niall does his best to avoid spending time with _liamandzayn_ or _louisandharry_. he'll go out with people individually or in odd pairs like when he goes golfing with liam and harry, but he strays away from couples of any sort.

occasionally, to pass the time, he'll call up greg or go clubbing with sean. sometimes he finds girls and for the night he doesn't feel as lonely because there's a warm body lying by his side. but then he wakes up and the girl is gone and he just feels worse because what he really wants is to open his eyes to soft, lazy kisses and his arm around the waist of someone he loves.

niall's seen the way liam and zayn are when they fall asleep together. liam always presses himself close to zayn's back and the two of them mold together like they were made to be in that position. and then niall notices their peaceful faces and the way liam's arm curls protectively around zayn's waist and it _hurts_ because that's what niall wants and it's what he doesn't have.

it's hard for niall to find someone who understands what he's feeling, so he starts spending more time with josh who's seen enough of _liamandzayn_ to at least get why niall would want something like that.

hanging out with josh helps and even after their next tour starts, niall spends lots of time with him and the rest of the band. the band is loud and funny and crazy but they're not always in niall's face like the rest of one direction sometimes are, which is good, because sometimes it's hard to be living in such close quarters with the same four people all the time.

(it's even harder when niall can't really go anywhere without running into zayn shoved up against a wall, his lips bruised from kissing and a blush creeping up his cheeks as liam's hands shove down the front of his trousers.)

josh exactly the type of person niall needs in his life. he's affectionate and sweet and listens when niall goes off on tangents about anything and everything. niall likes cuddling up to josh after long shows or playing with his fingers when they're up on stage reading twitter questions.

he's not exactly sure when the relationship begins to change. niall's not nearly as observant with the things happening in his own life as he is with the things happening in other people's. but one day touches begin to linger and eyes begin to stray and niall begins to get this funny feeling in his stomach whenever josh is near him.

niall begins to think that there's something happening, like they're becoming _niallandjosh_ instead of just niall and josh. niall knows there's something happening when he's in josh's hotel room after a show one night and the other boy leans in and kisses him on the mouth.

the kiss catches niall by surprise but after a slight hesitation he responds hungrily. it's different from any kiss niall's had in the past because first and foremost, josh is most definitely male. his hands are rough and calloused from playing the drums but they're also gentle as they cup niall's face. his body isn't all curves and soft skin but niall still enjoys the feeling of hard muscle underneath his fingertips.

the kiss a bit sloppy, their noses bump together and their teeth clash but josh tastes like popcorn and niall's favorite beer and it's all perfect because niall can feel his blood pumping and this electric shock coursing through his body. somewhere in the back of his mind he wonders if this is what zayn and liam feel like when they kiss, if this is what it's like to kiss someone he's in love with (and is he in love with josh? it's hard to tell exactly what he's feeling when josh is pinning him against the couch and rocking their hips together).

niall thinks he can probably think things through later. all that matters now is that there's a boy on top of him, giving him a look, and it's a look he's seen a million times before. it's the look zayn gives liam when he thinks no one's not looking or the way liam looks at zayn when the older boy has fallen asleep in his arms. it's the look that niall has always wanted to receive because it means he's finally found someone to call his own.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [these sheets are empty, waiting for you (podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/720615) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




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